Jefferson Davis' First Inaugural Address

Alabama Capitol, Montgomery, February 18, 1861

Gentlemen of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, Friends and Fellow-Citizens:

Called to the difficult and responsible station of Chief Executive of
the Provisional Government which you have instituted, I approach the
discharge of the duties assigned to me with an humble distrust of my
abilities, but with a sustaining confidence in the wisdom of those who
are to guide and to aid me in the administration of public affairs, and
an abiding faith in the virtue and patriotism of the people.

Looking forward to the speedy establishment of a permanent government
to take the place of this, and which by its greater moral and physical
power will be better able to combat with the many difficulties which
arise from the conflicting interests of separate nations, I enter upon
the duties of the office to which I have been chosen with the hope that
the beginning of our career as a Confederacy may not be obstructed by
hostile opposition to our enjoyment of the separate existence and
independence which we have asserted, and, with the blessing of
Providence, intend to maintain. Our present condition, achieved in a
manner unprecedented in the history of nations, illustrates the American
idea that governments rest upon the consent of the governed, and that
it is the right of the people to alter or abolish governments whenever
they become destructive of the ends for which they were established.

The declared purpose of the compact of Union from which we have
withdrawn was "to establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity,
provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure
the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity;" and when, in
the judgment of the sovereign States now composing this Confederacy, it
had been perverted from the purposes for which it was ordained, and had
ceased to answer the ends for which it was established, a peaceful
appeal to the ballot-box declared that so far as they were concerned,
the government created by that compact should cease to exist. In this
they merely asserted a right which the Declaration of Independence of
1776 had defined to be inalienable; of the time and occasion for its
exercise, they, as sovereigns, were the final judges, each for itself.
The impartial and enlightened verdict of mankind will vindicate the
rectitude of our conduct, and He who knows the hearts of men will judge
of the sincerity with which we labored to preserve the Government of our
fathers in its spirit. The right solemnly proclaimed at the birth of
the States, and which has been affirmed and reaffirmed in the bills of
rights of States subsequently admitted into the Union of 1789,
undeniably recognize in the people the power to resume the authority
delegated for the purposes of government. Thus the sovereign States here
represented proceeded to form this Confederacy, and it is by abuse of
language that their act has been denominated a revolution. They formed a
new alliance, but within each State its government has remained, the
rights of person and property have not been disturbed. The agent through
whom they communicated with foreign nations is changed, but this does
not necessarily interrupt their international relations.

Sustained by the consciousness that the transition from the former
Union to the present Confederacy has not proceeded from a disregard on
our part of just obligations, or any failure to perform every
constitutional duty, moved by no interest or passion to invade the
rights of others, anxious to cultivate peace and commerce with all
nations, if we may not hope to avoid war, we may at least expect that
posterity will acquit us of having needlessly engaged in it. Doubly
justified by the absence of wrong on our part, and by wanton aggression
on the part of others, there can be no cause to doubt that the courage
and patriotism of the people of the Confederate States will be found
equal to any measures of defense which honor and security may require.

An agricultural people, whose chief interest is the export of a
commodity required in every manufacturing country, our true policy is
peace, and the freest trade which our necessities will permit. It is
alike our interest, and that of all those to whom we would sell and from
whom we would buy, that there should be the fewest practicable
restrictions upon the interchange of commodities. There can be but
little rivalry between ours and any manufacturing or navigating
community, such as the Northeastern States of the American Union. It
must follow, therefore, that a mutual interest would invite good will
and kind offices. If, however, passion or the lust of dominion should
cloud the judgment or inflame the ambition of those States, we must
prepare to meet the emergency and to maintain, by the final arbitrament
of the sword, the position which we have assumed among the nations of
the earth. We have entered upon the career of independence, and it must
be inflexibly pursued. Through many years of controversy with our late
associates, the Northern States, we have vainly endeavored to secure
tranquillity, and to obtain respect for the rights to which we were
entitled. As a necessity, not a choice, we have resorted to the remedy
of separation; and henceforth our energies must be directed to the
conduct of our own affairs, and the perpetuity of the Confederacy which
we have formed. If a just perception of mutual interest shall permit us
peaceably to pursue our separate political career, my most earnest
desire will have been fulfilled. But, if this be denied to us, and the
integrity of our territory and jurisdiction be assailed, it will but
remain for us, with firm resolve, to appeal to arms and invoke the
blessings of Providence on a just cause.

As a consequence of our new condition and with a view to meet
anticipated wants, it will be necessary to provide for the speedy and
efficient organization of branches of the executive department, having
special charge of foreign intercourse, finance, military affairs, and
the postal service.

For purposes of defense, the Confederate States may, under ordinary
circumstances, rely mainly upon their militia, but it is deemed
advisable, in the present condition of affairs, that there should be a
well-instructed and disciplined army, more numerous than would usually
be required on a peace establishment. I also suggest that for the
protection of our harbors and commerce on the high seas a navy adapted
to those objects will be required. These necessities have doubtless
engaged the attention of Congress.

With a Constitution
differing only from that of our fathers in so far as it is explanatory
of their well-known intent, freed from the sectional conflicts which
have interfered with the pursuit of the general welfare, it is not
unreasonable to expect that States from which we have recently parted
may seek to unite their fortunes with ours under the government which we
have instituted. For this your Constitution makes adequate provision;
but beyond this, if I mistake not the judgment and will of the people, a
reunion with the States from which we have separated is neither
practicable nor desirable. To increase the power, develop the resources,
and promote the happiness of a confederacy, it is requisite that there
should be so much of homogeneity that the welfare of every portion shall
be the aim of the whole. Where this does not exist, antagonisms are
engendered which must and should result in separation.

Actuated solely by the desire to preserve our own rights and promote
our own welfare, the separation of the Confederate States has been
marked by no aggression upon others and followed by no domestic
convulsion. Our industrial pursuits have received no check. The
cultivation of our fields has progressed as heretofore, and even should
we be involved in war there would be no considerable diminution in the
production of the staples which have constituted our exports and in
which the commercial world has an interest scarcely less than our own.
This common interest of the producer and consumer can only be
interrupted by an exterior force which should obstruct its transmission
to foreign markets--a course of conduct which would be as unjust toward
us as it would be detrimental to manufacturing and commercial interests
abroad. Should reason guide the action of the Government from which we
have separated, a policy so detrimental to the civilized world, the
Northern States included, could not be dictated by even the strongest
desire to inflict injury upon us; but otherwise a terrible
responsibility will rest upon it, and the suffering of millions will
bear testimony to the folly and wickedness of our aggressors. In the
meantime there will remain to us, besides the ordinary means before
suggested, the well-known resources for retaliation upon the commerce of
an enemy.

Experience in public stations, of subordinate grade to this which
your kindness has conferred, has taught me that care and toil and
disappointment are the price of official elevation. You will see many
errors to forgive, many deficiencies to tolerate, but you shall not find
in me either a want of zeal or fidelity to the cause that is to me
highest in hope and of most enduring affection. Your generosity has
bestowed upon me an undeserved distinction, one which I neither sought
nor desired. Upon the continuance of that sentiment and upon your wisdom
and patriotism I rely to direct and support me in the performance of
the duty required at my hands.

We have changed the constituent parts, but not the system of our
Government. The Constitution formed by our fathers is that of these
Confederate States, in their exposition of it, and in the judicial
construction it has received, we have a light which reveals its true
meaning.

Thus instructed as to the just interpretation of the instrument, and
ever remembering that all offices are but trusts held for the people,
and that delegated powers are to be strictly construed, I will hope, by
due diligence in the performance of my duties, though I may disappoint
your expectations, yet to retain, when retiring, something of the good
will and confidence which welcome my entrance into office.

It is joyous, in the midst of perilous times, to look around upon a
people united in heart, where one purpose of high resolve animates and
actuates the whole--where the sacrifices to be made are not weighed in
the balance against honor and right and liberty and equality. Obstacles
may retard, they cannot long prevent the progress of a movement
sanctified by its justice, and sustained by a virtuous people.
Reverently let us invoke the God of our fathers to guide and protect us
in our efforts to perpetuate the principles which, by his blessing, they
were able to vindicate, establish and transmit to their posterity, and
with a continuance of His favor, ever gratefully acknowledged, we may
hopefully look forward to success, to peace, and to prosperity.